Aprilia has announced this Thursday that everything is ready for Maverick Viñales to get on the RS-GP in a test of testers on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. The ex- Yamaha rider will have a first contact with the bike before deciding whether to finally reappear in the championship on the weekend of September 10-12 at the Aragón Grand Prix .
Even before definitively dissociating itself from Yamaha, Aprilia announced the signing of Maverick for the 2022 season and at Noale ‘s house, once the rider has been left in full freedom, they want him to get on the bike as soon as possible, taking advantage of the last races of the season in preparation for the next course, which will start in Qatar on March 6.
The victim of this maneuver will be Lorenzo Savadori , who will give his place to Viñales. Although there had been speculation about the possibility of taking advantage of the six wild cards available to the Italian team, a change of riders will finally be made due to the technical and economic difficulty of preparing two complete bikes and having three riders on the track.
Savadori , who was injured in the Styrian Grand Prix, underwent surgery, and was unable to race in Austria, will reappear this weekend at Silverstone , in what could be his last race with the RS-GP.
“From a technical point of view, it is always fascinating to hear the impressions of a rider who is testing your bike for the first time,” explains Romano Albesiano , Aprilia’s chief technical officer.
“Especially if it’s a champion like Maverick, who we are pleased to welcome to the Aprilia Racing family,” he adds.
“After the great work carried out on the track by the racing department during the last two years, we are adding one more piece to the path of growth that we are embarking on with encouraging results. It is clear that the first approach involves a very practical adaptation phase, in terms of ergonomics and configuration, which we know vary for each rider. But I’m sure Maverick’s talent and speed will come to mind right away and I can’t wait to start working together.”
It remains to be confirmed if Aprilia will only have Maverick on the track in next week’s test in Misano, or if the house’s luxury tester, the Italian Andrea Dovizioso , will also be there, as was the Catalan’s wish for a faster adaptation and exchange of impressions.
However, the open negotiations between Dovi and Petronas-Yamaha , as well as his poor results in the tests carried out so far and his refusal to appear as a substitute for Savadori in Austria, have cooled the relationship, which makes it difficult to think that the Italian will end up participating in the Misano rehearsals with the boy from Roses .
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